Roots and Grubs

Mr. Bean

Posted by mamster on Wednesday, August 1, 2007

It’s prime green bean season, and one of my favorite things to do with them is braise them in a sort of Thai style. This is not how you’re supposed to treat high-season green beans, but whatever. The recipe is based on one from Mark Bittman a few years ago. That version involves a quartered duck. This is a lot faster.

Trim a pound or two of green beans. Thinly slice several shallots and three or four Thai or serrano chiles. Heat peanut oil in a saute pan and add the shallots. Cook until just beginning to wilt. Add the green beans, chiles, and a healthy shake of fish sauce, and stir to combine. Add a couple teaspoons of sugar (palm sugar if you have it), and half a cup of water, turn the heat down, cover, and simmer until the beans are crisp-tender, maybe 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and reduce the sauce until syrupy. Squeeze half a lime over, season with additional fish sauce if necessary, and serve.

That said, I attempted to do this the other day, and the green beans I’d bought were stringy, waxy, and inedible. What causes this? Field lice? Evil spirits?